Speech #1010024433

According to this mornings news reports. President Bush will announce later today his intention to work with Congress on granting a waiver on the JacksonVanik trade restrictions on the Soviet Union should the Soviets enact and faithfully carry out laws opening up Soviet emigration. Any Soviet promise of open emigration is welcome. However. our Government risks making a glrave error if it were to rush to lift trade. restrictions before it is certain that opening of Soviet emigration Is a permanent reality. The JacksonVanik restrictions of the Trade Act of 1974 represent perhaps the greatest tool our country has to leverage open emigration policies out of the Kremlin. Under these restrictions. Communist countries are prohibited from receiving a range of trade benefits from the United States until the President determines. that among other things. the country no longer denies its citizens the right to emigrate. The President may. however. temporarily waive these restrictions if he determines that the waiver will promote open emigration. and if he has received assurances that emigration practices will lead substantially to open emigration. In considering this waiver. it is incumbent on the President and the Congress to recognize some important. yet often overlooked factors: First. granting a waiver has much the same effect as a total lifting of trade restrictions. Once a waiver is in place. multiyear contracts will be negotiated. and then protected by contract sanctity in the event restrictions are reimposed. Second. because a waiver is tantamount to a permanent lifting of trade restrictions. the United States must be very certain that any new Soviet emigration policies are real. permanent. and apply to all persons wishing to emigrate. Third. the Soviets have cheated on just about every treaty they have signed and commitment they have made. In light of this. no waiver should be granted until after open emigration policies have been in effect over a long enough period to prove the Soviets are committed to permanent open emigration. Mr. President. the Soviet economy Is bankrupt.